Introduced by founding chef JP Pedhirney, Bridgette Bar’s banana pie was a hit from day one. Inspired by his love for banana cream pie, Pedhirney created this magnificent confection. Tweaked by pastry chef Jordan Hartl — who uses the whole dang banana — the pie is now taller, richer and, yes, even more a-peel-ing.
The crust
Hartl left the pie’s perfect, original crust as is. Instead of the usual graham-cracker crumb, the base is salty-sweet, crushed pretzel.
The base layers
A big fan of brown butter, Hartl mixes this slow-cooked ingredient with chocolate and cinnamon (made from sticks blackened over an open flame and ground to a fine powder) to make the pie’s first flavour layer. This is then topped with a caramelized banana jam layer.
The pudding
A whipped, cold-brew-espresso ganache disc sits atop the pie’s pudding layer, which is a cinnamon pudding made with banana purée. The resulting banoffee (that’s banana and coffee) over-and undertones marry to produce one of the best things that has ever happened to a piece of fruit.
The rum-caramel-drizzled meringue
This Italian meringue starts with a syrup that is frothed up with egg whites, producing a relatively durable pillow of sweetness. The rum-and-cream caramel topping infused with roasted banana skins beckons your spoon to dive into the meringue again and again. It must be akin to what angels eat on their birthdays.
Get your fill of banana pie at the Calgary (739 10 Ave. S.W.) or Canmore (1030 Spring Creek Dr.) locations of Bridgette Bar. bridgettebar.com
